Those Frantic Days
by facelessclocks
Summary: From hating their swapped ideals, they learn to cherish who they used to be and have become. - Franticshipping, based on the prompts for the 30-day OTP challenge.
1. Prologue - 30 Day OTP Challenge

**Completed:**

01 - Holding hands

**Pending:**

02 - Cuddling somewhere

**Others:**

03 - Gaming/watching a movie  
04 - On a date  
05 - Kissing  
06 - Wearing each others' clothes  
07 - Cosplaying  
08 - Shopping  
09 - Hanging out with friends  
10 - With animal ears  
11 - Wearing kigurumis  
12 - Making out  
13 - Eating ice cream  
14 - Genderswapped  
15 - In a different clothing style  
16 - During their morning ritual(s)  
17 - Spooning  
18 - Doing something together  
19 - In formal wear  
20 - Dancing  
21 - Cooking/baking  
22 - In battle, side-by-side  
23 - Arguing  
24 - Making up afterwards  
25 - Gazing into each others' eyes  
26 - Getting married  
27 - On one of their birthdays  
28 - Doing something ridiculous  
29 - Doing something sweet  
30 - Doing something hot

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A/N: This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction (or story, for that matter). I found this 30-day OTP challenge on Tumblr and decided to try it out (: I'll not be posting once per day, of course, but hope that I'll be able to complete all 30 by the end of December 2013! As for now, I'll try to update once every 2 weeks.


	2. Chapter 1 - Holding Hands

**Chapter 1 - Holding Hands **

**(sorry for reuploading this several times! there were some mistakes in the first two uploads)**

* * *

"Hurry Ruby! We're not gonna make it if ya keep stopping ta clean your clothes!" Sapphire yelled as she came to an abrupt stop from their race against nature as Ruby, who was standing under a tree a few metres behind, folding up his (fashionable) pants. He was just about to don on a raincoat in view of the darkening skies when the drizzle found its way to them.

"Ah, great, now my clothes are going to be soiled _and_ soaked..." whined Ruby, crumpling the raincoat in his hands as he hurriedly took off from the shelter of the trees to where Sapphire was. "Come on, let's go," he uttered with much determination, taking Sapphire's hands. "_This...is just like the time when we were heading down to the Cave of Origins..." _reminisced Sapphire when she felt Ruby's fingers interlock with hers assuringly. She felt warmth creep up her face even in the cooling air around them - it seemed to her that Ruby was always the opportunist when it came to such situations. For the past 4 years, Ruby had been feigning ignorance about the Mirage Island incident despite several confrontations in the first year after the Hoenn battle. Though little moments like these proved otherwise, those encounters still left Sapphire uncertain about his feelings for her.

As they passed the trees of taillows, swellows and zigzagoons scuttling for shelter, passed the entrance to Littleroot town and onto Route 101, their secret base slowly came into view. Sapphire picked up her speed, having easily kept up with Ruby even with his running shoes switched on, not wanting him to reach the base before she could enter to make some final adjustments. A thunder rolled overhead and the rain picked up, a challenge to the duo who were at its mercy.

Ruby looked at the skies disapprovingly, then yanked Sapphire's arm closer whilst placing the oversized maroon raincoat over their heads in one swift motion. He changed his grip on her hand, holding her right hand with his right before putting his left arm around her shoulders to keep the raincoat from falling from her side. From his peripheral view, Ruby saw her shoulders stiffen and, knowing the familiarity of their situation, gave a sly smile.

"WHADAYA THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Sapphire snapped and jerked away from a slightly startled Ruby, leaving her away from the protection of the raincoat. Not that she minded, anyway.

"Wouldn't want you to catch a cold from running in the rain, now would we?" said Ruby as innocently as he could. "Weren't you the one was rushing me to the base for no apparent reason?" She nodded. "Well we're almost there, why'd you stop suddenly...or did something cross your mind?" he teased.

Her eyes fixed onto a spot on the ground that suddenly became awfully interesting. _There he goes again_. However, much like her habitual banters, after hearing Ruby's jibe, her headstrong nature kicked in and overwrote her moment of embarrassment.

"Humpf says who? Don't think that I've forgiven you for what you did this afternoon just yet!"

"Naaaw, Saph, I've already apologised for painting Dono's toenails. Moreover..."

"...and for tying ribbons into Toro's fur just an hour before my date with Wally?"

"What date!"

Sapphire's unwavering glare suggested that it was not the time to change the subject just yet.

"Right. Um, yea and that...look Saph, sorry, alright? But you've got to admit they did look _beautiful_ after grooming! Speaking of which, your hair will need some grooming yourself if you keep standing there. Why don't you put this raincoat on?", said Ruby as he gestured to the raincoat he was holding onto.

"You can KEEP YOUR BRUSHES TO YERSELF, and the raincoat, too! Only a little bit of rain will make a prissy boy like you fall ill." Sapphire turned around and stalked towards the remaining distance to the base.

"Wait up! Heeeey!"

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Several falls later, a dishevelled Ruby eventually reached the secret base, alone. He called out for Sapphire but could only see the movement of shadows in the inner area of the secret base. He rummaged through his bag for a towel to dry his hair and clothes and walked into the inner parts of the cave, shouting, "Saph...?" No response. He made a final turn before arriving in the inner room.

Inside, the freshly-groomed Toro and Dono were holding up a small banner which read "Happy 16th birthday, Ruby!". On closer inspection, it also had a spherical drawing of someone (_is-that-me?),_ and the only features recognisable were _his_ eyes and mouth. The writings and drawing were scrawled on in Bluk and Razz berry juice that was gradually dripping off, which made Ruby chuckle at this sight. He looked around to find Sapphire with a sheepish smile on her face.

"Heh. Happy birthday Ruby." She closed the gap between them, continuing, "I couldn't make anything on my own, so I met up with Wally this afternoon to ask for his help to draw the banner."

_A date, huh_. "It's okay Sapphire, thank you for this. It's the thought that counts, right?"

"I guess. Also, sorry for shouting at you earlier. I had to make sure the banner didn't get drenched by the rain but couldn't find an excuse to come here before you. I really wanted to give you a present, but unlike you, I suck at baking. And sewing. And all the other things you are good at..."

"Saph. It's alright, really, thank you for this. In fact," he paused, reaching for her hand for the second time of the day, "...the best gift that I could ever have, you've al-al-already...ah...AH CHOO!"

Sapphire cringed, looking up at him in worry. He noticed her gaze but smiled adoringly, then tugged at their semi-connected hands and pulled her into an embrace, finishing his incomplete sentence. In the presence of each other, the room emanated of such warmth that Ruby eventually forgot to change out of his damp clothes before they left for home.

Unfortunately, he fell ill the next day and Sapphire had to condone being his slave for a day in return for _giving_ him a cold.

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A/N: Aaaand this is the first prompt! Sorry about the final pun, I just had to :S Also, a happy belated birthday, Ruby! I think in reality they ought to be 17-18 ever since the completion of the Hoenn arc, hmm but I thought 4-5 years of amnesia would already be kinda difficult to handle so I settled for 16 instead. If you've read this, please review and leave some constructive criticisms to let me know what you think! (:


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